Alone in paris | solo traveling, frolicking, cafes, museums

I got here late yesterday afternoon from the south of France. I'm actually staying in the Canal Saint-Martin area. I was here this time last year and when we were walking around this area it was bumping and I was like yeah I want to stay there so this time when I was looking for airbnbs I kept my search just to this area and I'm so glad that I did because when I got here yesterday I was walking around and the vibes were just so high. You know everyone was eating and drinking and hanging out with friends and swimming in the canal which I guess people do know after the Olympics but yeah it was just so lovely. I will however say that I'm really starting to feel the impacts of solo traveling. I think you know seeing big groups of friends hanging out when you're all alone just feels a little weird and lonely and uncomfortable but I keep reminding myself that that's totally normal and it's all part of the process and it's really what's going to help build mental fortitude throughout this whole thing. To try to make the most of it I got a delicious sandwich and I ate it by the canal and then also got an 8% beer so I left kind of wonky but I just read and journaled and sat by the canal for a while which was so nice. So I'll be in Paris for an entire week and this is actually my fifth time in Paris so I don't have too too much that I need to see and do but I really wanted to come here for this amount of time just one to practice my French but also to enjoy the city at a more relaxed pace which I'm very much looking forward to. There are however a few things that are on my bucket list so one I really want to go to the Officine Universelle store. I think I'll do that today actually to get one of their combs and then there are a few museums that I haven't been to yet that I would love to see so the Petit Palais, the Rodin Museum and then the Picasso Museum and then other than that there are just a bunch of cafes and wine bars that I've had saved that I would love to finally check out. I'll also be here on the weekend so I think I'll go see one of the big flea markets that they have here and then because I'm here for a week I'm thinking I might as well do a couple day trips so I'd love to go to Giverny to see Monet's water lilies and then I've also heard really good things about Étretat and Strasbourg so yeah I'll see what I get up to but really it's just going to be an entire week of frolicking around the city, wandering aimlessly and eating and drinking which are all of my favorite things. So quick update, we've reached the point of the trip where I absolutely hate everything that I've packed. It's also really chilly this week which is a new development and it's raining all week. It's gonna be like 20 degrees Celsius every day so pretty cold and I did not really pack for that so I did buy some trousers yesterday which actually two pairs which I don't know how the hell I'm gonna fit that into my little tiny backpack carry-on but we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there. Also I did book a day trip to Giverny tomorrow because that's like the one sunny day and I figured it'd be good to see Monet's gardens in the sunlight and then I think I'm gonna do Strasbourg on Thursday. Yes, okay, bye-bye! From the Luxembourg gardens, I am finally sitting. I think I'm on mile eight of walking today so it feels so good just to sit down. I'm going to spend a little bit of time just like journaling and reading. I actually don't have that much time because impromptuly last minute my plans kind of changed. I was originally going to meet up with a friend for drinks but we're going to grab coffee tomorrow instead and so I'm meeting up with another friend to go on this like boat river cruise thing. Just trying to say yes to as many things as I can whilst solo traveling. I will say this is and it's definitely been a lot more tough like mentally. It's just a lot of alone time and I'm like getting sick of my own thoughts so yeah just trying to say yes to hanging out with people when I have the opportunity to.